Externally worn, sanitary absorbent napkins are one of many kinds of feminine protection devices currently available. Sanitary napkins conventionally have a laminate construction including a body-facing liquid permeable layer, an absorbent core layer or layers, and a liquid impermeable garment facing layer. A problem with conventional napkins, due to the laminate construction thereof, is that such articles are not particularly breathable within the absorbent layers of the article. This lack of “internal breathability” within the article construct can cause comfort problems for the user during use of the article. In particular, the lack of internal breathability in conventional articles may cause the users body temperature to rise in a localized area thereby creating discomfort during use. Further, once the article becomes wet, the lack of internal breathability may prevent the article from dying thereby imparting a wet sensation to the user during use.
The inventors of the present invention have discovered a sanitary napkin construction that overcomes the shortcomings of conventional sanitary napkins described above and more particularly have disclosed herein a napkin construction that provides enhanced breathability, temperature and humidity control characteristics. The inventors of the present invention have also discovered a method of making an absorbent core structure for use in such an article.